Every year as many as 100,000 women in the United States place their babies for adoption and become “Birthmothers”. In this book, over 70 birthmothers share their experiences, and stories in a way that will inform, fascinate, and deeply affect anyone who reads them.
Birthmothers is a compelling narrative, collection of stories shared by birthmothers, often revealing their experiences for the first time. Mothers who placed their babies for adoption between 1950s and the 1980s, answered questionnaires and participated in in-depth interviews with sociologist Jones for this searching study. A true, compassionate view of the experience and aftereffects of surrendering children for adoption. These stories add real faces and true feelings for this study of adoption and unwanted pregnancies. The birthmothers Jones interviewed as part of this study are of different ages and backgrounds. Jones notes almost all of the mothers, share regrets about their decision to place their babies for adoption. Including issues in future relationships and marriages.
The book follows the Birthmother’s lives, from discovery of their pregnancies through the present, and identifies the Birthmother Syndrome — a pattern of behavior and emotions resulting from surrender. With heartwarming honesty, this book shares the stories of the invisible side of the adoption triad, and touches everyone involved in adoption, as well as anyone interested in motherhood, family and women in our society.
Many of the birthmothers interviewed share stories of being teenagers too young to have a voice in the decision to surrender the baby, or who felt stigmatized by illegitimacy. Sixty percent of those who gave up a baby to adoption agencies that “sealed the records” the birthmothers later sought in order to locate their adopted children. A chapter titled “Finding, Winning and Losing” discusses some of the obstacles birthmothers face when establishing intimacy after reunion, with their adopted child. This chapter also discusses relationships between birth parents and adoptive parents.
Birthmothers is a very compelling book which adds much to our anecdotal knowledge, however, the author’s conclusions must not be viewed as over generalizing the experiences of all birthmothers. Relatively few birthmothers were interviewed, in a nonrandom sample of 72 from the approximately six million birthmothers in the United States. The book covers so many eras and backgrounds and is written to cover a broad number of issues that may be common, but not always they same given the way the adoption process has changed in the past 20 years. Jones acknowledges that the book is about some, not all, birthmothers.
Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms:
A | B | C | D | E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L | M | N-O | P | Q-R | S | T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
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